Chai.. like never before

This post is dedicated to my fairy godmother of chai - my Paati. Happy Birthday Paati!!

This has lesser to do with chai than to do with the mechanism of making chai. Try agonizing over a blasted hotplate that takes 10-15 minutes to make one cup of tea. And maybe 8 minutes once you have boiled the water and the milk separately in the microwave oven. And then try using a gas. Oh that wondrous thing called gas... which has flames. That which can make tea from the coldest of waters and most refrigerated of milk in under 2 minutes. Good bless the gas!

Now of course I have to get used to doing things one at a time... Previously I used to get along with my morning ablusions while the chai sat on the stove. I could afford a nap while the food cooked leisurely for hours together. Those days are gone. And I welcome them with outstretched arms. Enter the era of the gas oven... more food blogs will follow soon of course. Cheers to gas!

Tea for all

I opened up BBC News as usual and much to my delight I discovered that my habit of 3-4 cups of tea a day might actually pay off in the long run. Here's the entire news article - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5281046.stm. Go TEA!

More on Tea...

As a tea maniac and specially one who likes to experiment, I have zeroed in on Celestial Seasonings as my favorite brand. And I tried their Tension Tamer tea just yesterday and boy.. was it good or what. Recently, I have started believing that I may have RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). It maybe that I do have RLS or it maybe that seeing so many ads about it make me wanna wriggle my legs even more. The temptation to jig-wig them is maximum when trying to fall asleep. But believe me, this tea helped distinctly. I felt this soothing calm around me and this blanket of peace surround me. I can't vouch for its "tension taming" capabilities because I wasn't really tensed. But with ingredients like peppermint, cinnamon and lemon, ginger and chamomile, the worst that can happen is to have good herbs in your system! Mostly I believe that these teas work more on philosophy than anything else. In that, when you read the blurb that claims these fabulous things, you will for them to happen and end up realizing that they do.

Amongst others, I tried CS's Lemon Zinger, and this tea oozes red because it has hibiscus... It was supposed to startle you into freshness.. But maybe because of the tangy flavour, or maybe it was 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon, I was little more sleepy than awake.

But as I already proclaimed... whats the worst thing that could happen? Extra antioxidants in the system? Nice herbs and a refreshing sugar-free drink? More heart-friendly and cancer-fighting capabilities? I'm game.

The Tea Blog

So anyone who knows me knows that I have a big hotspot for chai. But these days I have progressed a little further from chai and experimented with a wide variety of herbal teas as well. So here's a short review of the varieties...

1. Masala Chai


Needs no introduction. Traditionally it is the only variety that is made with milk. There are a million recipes to make masala chai online. My favorite 'masala' is the one that my Patti makes at home. Its the typical blend of a bunch of spices (cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, etc) and is perfect when added to the boiling tea powder. No more on this one. Need a recipe? Take a look at Priya's blog. Navigate around and fin more than one variety of chai.

2. Green Tea

Green Tea is traditional Chinese Tea and is usually drunk black (well, actually yellow). It is a wonderfully soothing flavor and has just the right blend of being tangy and tasty. It is absolutely delectable when had with honey and lemon. And from my experience, green tea is a definite energy booster. It can keep you awake and active for hours. And the flavor of green tea has caught on so much that it is now disguised in many packages. The Green Tea frappuccino at Starbucks is a great option for those who like it cold. And if you manage to get to an Asian restaurant, try the Green Tea icecream. Just perfect.

3. Wu Long Tea

This is traditionally Chinese as well. By itself, Wu Long is very strong in flavor and maybe a little bitter to the untrained palate. And as with most Chinese brews, the more you steep the more bitter it becomes. When taken with honey and lemon, the taste improves phenomenally. Wu Long is supposed to be a major boost of metabolism. From my experience however, I think Green Tea is more energizing than Wu Long. Wu Long is excellent for digestion of food however and cleanses the body and is a rich source of antioxidants and has proven to increase the free radicals in the body. So, it is a definite healthy choice. Feeling heavy after a meal? No problem.. have a glass of wu long.

4. SleepyTime Tea

This was a recent discovery of mine. I tried it last night just before I got into bed. This is another traditional blend of typical ingredients like chamomile (for soothing) and spearmint to create a calming sensation. The box recommends taking it in bed literally and dropping off to sleep. Maybe because I expected something like a sleeping pill effect, I was a little wary of it. But once I took it, I could sense the warmth spreading through me. It had the effect of nearly idling my mind and with the right situation, I may as well have drifted into sleep. But then someone chose to blare horn at that exact moment and the spell was broken. It took me the typical 20-30 minutes to fall back into sleep after that. But its worth a shot and I will give it a try once more tonight.

Having a whole lot of natural tea is certain way of boosting the antioxidants in the blood. And whoever said a lot of tea was bad for health? If anyone's tried any other form of tea and would like to recommend it, please leave me a comment. Brew away and relax. :)